Page 4 of Cougar Point

Now I really do want to throw up. “You’ve got to be shitting me?”

“We don’t have a sauna.” She says this like she’s really gotten one over on me so I play along, grin and punch her on the arm. I want to punch her in the face.

“Who pays for all of this?”

“You, me, everyone.”

Except the prisoners.Prison is the ultimate Student Debt Relief Program. If you want a free college degree, go to prison.

The interview room isn’t like the ones you see on television or on the big screen. It’s worse. The concrete block walls are unpainted and stained from years of neglect, and although prisons across the U.S. went smoke free in the 90s, the smell of cigarette smoke lives on. No windows. No coffee bar. I sit in one of two chairs at a table that’s bolted to the floor. My only contact with the guard will be to scream. I’m not afraid.

The door opens and a female guard who is built like Arnold Schwarzenegger with a blond wig comes in leading my mother. Courtney Cassidy, someone who betrayed and murdered my stepfather, the only man I’ve ever thought of as a father. She betrayed me and my little brother, Hayden, and lied to me my entire life. I’m not proud to call her my mother. She is in orange coveralls and black mules on her manicured feet, her hair is shiny blond, stylishly cut just above her ears, and she’swearing bright red lipstick. She’s tan. Even more so than I am. She no longer looks played out, scared, lost, like the last time I saw her. Instead she’s alert, self-assured, and I notice the bags are gone beneath her bright, almost-cobalt blue eyes. She’s in better physical shape than I ever remember her being. Prison life agrees with her.

She sits across from me, her smile reaching her eyes; she’s at ease. A feeling of hate and love and anger sweeps through my heart and mind. She doesn’t deserve to smile, or feel safe.

I offer my hand to my mom and say, “Detective Megan Carpenter.”

She doesn’t take it. “I wasn’t expecting a visit today.”

My face betrays my disgust at the remark. Maybe I interrupted her makeover. She says, “Freyda, please close the door. We’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be right outside, Mrs. Cassidy.”

“Thank you, Freyda,” Mom says. The guard gives me a sharp look and shuts the door.

Mom turns those beacon eyes on me and the smile disappears. The bitch is back.

“You’re a detective now, Rylee. I’m glad you’ve done so well.”

FOUR

Victoria has been left alone for so long she wonders if they’ve abandoned her, and the thought of being left to die frightens her more than being kidnapped. She hears a noise and a door opens. Footsteps approach. A foot nudges her in the side causing her to jerk in pain.

A woman says, “Wake up, bitch,” and kicks her in the hip; the only place on her body that doesn’t hurt. “I know you can hear me. Nod your head or you’ll get it again.”

Victoria lifts her head from the floor and sobs. Bloody snot runs down her gag and drips from her chin.

“You’ve had it easy all of your life. Now it’s time to see what the other side is like.”

Victoria braces for another blow but the woman just laughs.

“How much are you worth to him? Huh? A million? Two? Five? Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. Yet. But if your husband wants you back, he’d better come up with the money.”

Victoria hears a derisive snort. “Five is pocket change for the King of Cougar Point. Am I right?”

Victoria hurriedly nods.

“Damn right. Maybe we’ll ask for ten. If he balks, we’ll send him pieces of you to bring him in line. How’s that, Miss High and Mighty?”

Victoria wonders if they’ve already contacted Jack. Do they intend to let her go? But she’s afraid to mumble or do anything to set this animal off again. And so she doesn’t reply and a shoe pushes her head down into the concrete hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“You don’t have to answer. What happens to you is up to him. He’ll either get you back or find your body. His choice.”

Victoria hears the woman step away and a door open. Her heart is beating in her throat and tears stream down her face, puddling on the floor. She thinks of Jack and the way they left things. She doesn’t know if he’ll pay the ransom. She doesn’t think it matters. After the beating she’s just taken they would never let her live. They’re going to kill her.

FIVE

18 MONTHS AGO—FEBRUARY 2023

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